Meet the Director

As an undergraduate, Dr. Dana Aspinall began college as an environmental studies major but then, after taking several English classes, he realized that his real love was literature. He knows that finding a subject you are passionate about is the key to an amazing education.

“I remember the exact moment in class where I decided to be an English major: the professor was discussing one of the final scenes of Paradise Lost. Just talking about the beauty of the text made my professor weep. I’d never seen someone be so affected by something like that. It was very powerful. I went to the registrar’s office right after that class and registered for my English major because I wanted to find what she had found.”

Dr. Aspinall strives to lead students in the Presidential Honors Program to find this level of excitement and passion for their studies, regardless of their major.

Why does he enjoy leading the Presidential Honors Program?

“I believe the Presidential Honors Program works because students participated in its establishment and in creating its goals; they continue to shape its direction and purpose. In other words, it never gets old because it never stays the same. The program doesn’t merely create a space where students feel good about how smart they are or where they isolate themselves from the rest of the student body. Instead, participants continually demonstrate their aptitudes through their leadership and service to others.”

Dr. Aspinall is an Associate Professor of English at Alma and has been at the college since 2008. He earned a master’s degree in Renaissance and Medieval Literature at the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. in Renaissance Drama at the University of Connecticut.